Facial Exercises Guide » bags under eyes

Eye Bags Treatment To Refresh And Revitalize Your Looks

rodney — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 02:42:18 +0000

Excess Baggage?

Do people often tell you that you’re looking tired? Ask if you need a rest or if you’ve thought about taking a vacation lately?

If so then it could be down to one simple fact. Eye bags.

Eye bags not only make you look more tired than you may be in reality, they also age your face. And the dreaded bags don’t just affect older people.

Eye bags can develop as early as your 20s or 30s although they do tend to get worse as people age.

What Causes Eye Bags?

Eye bags often start out as a small amount of puffiness under the eyes, at first it may be barely noticeable and you might just brush it off as one too many late nights.

However over time this slight puffiness may develop into those full-blown eye bags that can age your appearance so much.

Eye bags occur because over time the natural fat and padding in the under eye area begins to bulge forwards as the ligaments that hold it together get weaker.

As the years go on this puffiness continues to get worse and they eye bag will become more noticeable, the problem is accelerated because the skin also loses elasticity as we age.

What Are The Risk Factors For Developing Eye Bags?

The natural aging process is unfortunately one of the causes of eye bags although not every person develops noticeable bags as they age.

Heredity plays a large part in who does and who doesn’t develop under eye bags. If your parents developed eye bags at an early age then you may be prone to developing them too.

Other factors that can speed up the development of eye bags include:

Too many late nights/lack of sleep
Water retention
Too much salt in the diet
Lack of exercise
Sinus conditions

Eye Bags Treatment

So if people keep asking if you are tired or if you have had a late night then what can you do to combat the problem of those unsightly under eye bags?

The most obvious choice of eye bag treatment and the only permanent way to remove eye bags is of course cosmetic surgery, but for many people this is not an affordable or realistic option.

If you are wondering how to reduce eye bags naturally there are a number of things you can do.

The following hints and tips may only provide a temporary reduction of under eye swelling but they can be good for those quick-fix situations like a party or other special occasion when you may be photographed or just want to look your best.

5 Quick-Fix Tips for Reducing the Appearance of Eye Bags

1. A well-known and popular treatment for soothing the eye area is to place chilled slices of cucumber over the eyes. Other similar remedies include placing potato slices, spoons or tea bags that have been frozen over the eyes.

Frozen chamomile and green tea bags come highly recommended for their soothing and anti-inflammatory properties.

What these remedies have in common is the ‘cold’ element and although the results may not be permanent this is a lovely way to freshen up and soothe your whole eye area.

You could also use a cosmetic, soothing eye gel that has been specially formulated for the delicate eye area. Chill it in the fridge for the added soothing benefits.

2. Try acupressure. Locate the fleshy pad just below your index finger on the palm of your hand. This is the pressure point used in acupressure massage for the eyes.

Press down firmly on this area and hold for a count of 10. Release and repeat 5 times.

3. One surprising eye bags remedy, and one that may not be for everyone, is the use of hemorrhoid cream on the under eye area.

The cream can temporarily smooth and tighten the skin but it is vital that you only use hemorrhoid creams and not oils and that you make sure you do not get any of the product into your eyes.

4. Drink more water to flush away the bodily toxins that may play a part in under eye baggage. Water retention and dehydration can both play havoc with your looks so the simple answer is to make sure you are drinking enough pure water.

5. Taking a catnap is another quick fix that can help when eye bags are in the early stages.

Just 15 minutes of snoozing can help to refresh your facial skin and reduce under eye puffiness – try it and see the results – you will be amazed at the difference a quick nap can do for your skin.

What’s more researchers have found that we feel more depressed about our appearances when we are sleep deprived – so there’s another reason to make sure you’re getting enough sleep!

Facial Exercises for Eye Bags

It is possible to improve the appearance of bags under the eyes with facial exercises and this is one natural and simple way you can help yourself.

How to Perform Facial Exercises

Perform facial exercises either standing or sitting comfortably, keep your shoulders relaxed and try not to create any tension within your body.

Practicing in front of a mirror is a good way to see which muscles you are using and to make sure that you are targeting the correct facial muscle groups.

When exercising the eye area be very careful not to drag or pull the skin too much as this can make matters worse.

The skin around the eyes is particularly delicate and prone to the damaging signs of aging; it is therefore vital that you treat the eye area very gently.

Exercise 1 – To Reduce Under Eye Bagginess

Place the pads of your index fingers under each eyebrow
Raise your lower eyelids
Press your upper eyelids downwards at the same time and hold for a count of 5
Relax and repeat 5 times

Exercise 2 – Eye Tapping

Eye tapping may help to reduce eye bags and also tackles eye wrinkles at the same time as it stimulates blood flow to the area.

With the pads of your finger tips start at the inside corner of the eye near to the nose
Tap gently with your finger pads following the natural curve of the under eye area out towards the outer edge of the eyes near the temples
Tap back again to the inner corner of the eyes
Repeat 5 – 10 times

Exercise 3 – Lower Lid Stretch

Place the 3 middle fingers from each hand under your eyes
Pull downwards with your finger very gently
At the same time try to close your eyes – you will feel a stretch in the eye area
Hold for a count of 5
Relax and repeat 5 – 10 times

Lose Your Eye Bags – Look Fresher – Look Younger

For anyone looking for a natural, non-surgical way to look younger a healthy diet, adequate rest and facial exercises will go a long way in helping you to maintain a youthful looking face or prevent the negative signs of aging.

Facial exercises particularly can be helpful if you want to regain a firmer and younger looking face.

The 30 Day Face Fitness Formula Program is packed full of facial exercises that target the whole face and other helpful tips to help improve your looks.

Eye Bags – How to Get Rid of Bags Under Eyes

rodney — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:56:18 +0000

photo by krpamayii

To most people, it’s the eyes are actually the most mesmerizing feature in the human face.

This is what you’ll read in research polls and surveys.

These statistics reveal that most men and women find the eyes as the most attractive facial feature they look for in the opposite sex, so don’t let your most magnetic feature be ruined by eye bags.

It’s your eyes that should catch attention, not the bags under them.

And bags under the eyes are right to be called so, as these “luggage” can really weigh down your appearance. Eye bags give you a perennial stressed and sick look even if you slept well and feel vibrant and energetic.

A good skin care routine and expensive eye creams won’t prevent eye bags from making themselves felt if you don’t do facial toning exercises. Applying heavy concealer will neither help so much in hiding bulging under eye bags.

But this does not make eye bags reduction impossible to those who balk at having artificial procedures to treat them.

You just have to find out what caused them in the first place, then apply the necessary measures to either completely eliminate or improve these underlying conditions.

Possible Causes of Eye Bags

The skin around the eyes is thinner and more delicate than the rest of your facial skin. It is for this reason that the first signs of aging appear in the eye area, and where fluid retention or extra fat appears more prominent.

Genetics may also play a big role in your tendency to accumulate fluids in your eye area.

But this hereditary predisposition to hold water in the blood vessels in your eye or periorbital area doesn’t mean your only recourse is surgical eye bag removal or blepharoplasty or less invasive procedures such as Botox injections, which will have a heightened ouch factor due to the very delicate and sensitive periorbital skin.

You can have a natural eye bag removal by changing your diet, lifestyle and by religiously doing facial exercises ten to fifteen minutes a day.

Eye bags can be caused by:

- Loss of skin elasticity due to aging
- Droopy cheek muscles
- Sinus infection or allergic rhinitis
- Thyroid or kidney problem
- Fatigue and lack of sleep
- Hormonal imbalances
- Food and dust allergies
- Iron deficiency
- Caffeine addiction
- Smoking
- Menstruation
- Pregnancy
- Overworked eye muscles in the case of people with vision problems
- Toxicity

Most of these underlying causes can be tremendously improved by proper nutrition. Some, however, would require medical attention.

Consult a competent alternative health practitioner or physician practicing complementary or integrative medicine to help you with your health conditions.

How To Get Rid of Eye Bags

1. Eat whole foods as much as possible. Leave processed foods untouched in their shelves when doing your grocery. Consume watery fruits and veggies such as watermelon, cucumbers, apples, cranberry, asparagus and grapes.

Coconut water and green tea are good natural diuretics.

Potassium-rich foods such as bananas, strawberries, cantaloupe, tomatoes, papaya and yogurt help keep your body (and face) from retaining water.

Getting lots of vitamins A, C and E from natural food sources such as carrots and dark leafy greens, citrus fruits, bell peppers, nuts, seeds and cold-pressed oils would also be highly beneficial.

Vitamin C and B6 supplements also assist in the body’s expulsion of extra fluids.

2. Keep yourself well hydrated by drinking enough water each day.

Raw fruits and vegetables also contain high amounts of quality, mineral-rich water that your body will need to purge itself of toxins and impurities that can lead to the formation of eye bags.

3. Avoid foods and beverages that encourage fluid retention such as alcohol, coffee, white sugar, cheese, fried foods, carbonated drinks, white flour, gravy, salt, soy sauce and foods that contain monosodium glutamate.

Steer away from food toxins such as artificial preservatives, chemical additives and pesticides present in inorganic produce.

Don’t go crazy over carbohydrate laden foods as these can also lead to facial edema.

4. Obtain extra iron by eating spinach, broccoli, dried fruits such as raisins, and sea vegetables such as kelp, dulse and laver. You can also take an iron supplement as an insurance policy.

5. Keep your sodium intake under tight control. The common rule is not to exceed 2,000 milligrams of sodium each day.

But since you are conscious of your rather pronounced eye bags then you might as well not go over 1,000 milligrams of sodium a day, which would entail mandatory label reading and sodium intake monitoring.

6. To reduce the appearance of bags under eyes, place both of your index fingers on the sides of your outer nostrils and apply gentle pressure on the two areas for ten seconds.

You can either steadily press these points or move your fingers in tiny circular motions. Repeat five times. Pressing on these acupressure points will initiate release of toxins that can manifest as under eye bags.

7. Fix your body clock and follow a facial exercise regime. Going to bed on time, sleeping for seven to eight hours, keeping stress in check and doing facial exercises that minimize under eye bags will not only tighten the eye ring muscles.

These will also improve circulation in the eye area, which can help lighten the appearance of dark circles. Face exercises for the muscle ring around the eyes ring also smoothen crow’s feet and other wrinkles in the periorbital area.

Upper eyelid bags or hooded lids will also get their treatment through the practice of face exercises.

8. The cold cucumber remedy has the reputation of being merely anecdotal but those who put cold cucumber slices regularly swear by its efficacy. Slice a cucumber and freeze 2 slices for half an hour.

Meanwhile munch on the remaining slices with a freshly made low sodium dip or a simple raw apple cider vinegar and black pepper dip. Apple cider vinegar is another all-natural remedy for water retention due to its high potassium content.

After thirty minutes have elapsed get the 2 cucumber slices from the freezer. Lie down and place both on closed eyes for fifteen minutes.

Don’t let eye bags steal the spotlight from your eyes. Let your peepers shine by effectively treating bags under eyes as outlined in this article.